Beef Recipes

Beef Carpaccio

An Italian invention of centuries ago, classic Carpaccio is thinly sliced beef served raw with a light dressing. Over the years, some chefs have gotten too creative and added Aoili’s and tomatoes and the like, turning the dish into a salad with raw meat. As always, I love the classics and this is my take on it.

If you are worried about consuming raw beef, there is a method in which you sear the meat for two minutes per side, refreeze and then begin my steps. It is far from ideal, but it will assuage your concerns.

Quality and cut of beef is essential; keep in mind this dish is all about the meat! Try to find and use prime grade tenderloin; easier to access is prime filet.

1. While the beef is still frozen, yet slightly thawed, it must be sliced. I have found that freezing a fresh steak for 2 hours will get the right consistency, or removing a frozen piece of meat to room temperature for 90 minutes.

2. To safely prepare carpaccio, the meat must be slightly frozen to allow you to slide a very sharp knife along the edges of the meat to slice razor thin, just below ¼ inch, slices.

3. If you are unable or not confident enough to slice thin enough slices; here’s a trick. Still slice individual slices as thinly as possible; then, using a mallet, pound each slice thin enough to be served as Carpaccio.

4. Once the meat is sliced, arrange on plates and place plates in refrigerator until ready to serve

5. Prepare the dressing; In a bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, Worcestershire, Tabasco, mustard and olive oil.

6. Remove the plates of beef.

7. Apply a layer of the dressing to meat and swirl plate to allow dressing to adhere to as much meat as possible.

Just like with turkey, you will be amazed with the juicy tender flavor of this recipe. Keep in mind however, that unlike turkey, a rib roast prepared in the oven is not bland at all. Personally, I don't find deep fried prime rib to be any better than a traditionally prepared one. However, it is always a show stopper amongst guests to deep fry anything, and you certainly don't lose anything in the flavor department doing it this way.

This recipe produces rare meat in the middle (red throughout) and medium rare cuts on the ends (pink with some brown). This is how Beef should be prepared and served. If you are insane and like your meat medium or worse, cook this roast to 130 degrees in step 9 and don't blame me when your meat is tough and lacks flavor. Oh by the way, you're an idiot, too.

FOR THE FRYING:
One 7 Pound prime beef rib roast (figure about ¾ pound per person. This size should feed 10 people)
One Turkey fryer
Peanut oil (approx 3-5 gallons) As an alternative, you can use canola or vegetable oil if you must, but it is not ideal

To Make...

1. Make sure the roast is fully thawed by placing it in the refrigerator at least 2 full days before cooking.

2. The night before roasting, drizzle olive oil along the outside of the roast, and rub generous amounts of seasoning mix all over the roast. (You are creating what is called a "dry-rub") The seasonings not only bring out the beef's flavors, but also help to keep the meat tender.

3. Cover the meat (I use a roasting pan with a large lid so that nothing like saran wrap is actually touching the meat) and refrigerate over night. Remove from the fridge at least an hour before cooking, and place onto your frying rack, per the fryer's instructions.

4. Fill your large pot approx. ¾ full with peanut oil and heat to 325 degrees. Carefully lower the roast into the oil as directed by the fryer's manufacturer.

5. Allow 3 minutes per pound before checking the roast. To do so safely, have someone raise the roast at least halfway removed from the oil, and test the center. The roast is done when the thermometer reads 115 degrees in the very middle, for rare meat in the middle as explained above.

6. Place the done roast on a roasting pan which has been covered with brown paper bags to absorb the oil. Let roast rest for 10 minutes, then carve. To do so, place roast, ribs down and place your very sharp knife just above the top of the bones into the meat. Slice all the way through, allowing you to then fold the meat away from the bones. Cut the meat completely from the bones, then carve the rib roast like a roast beef, serving slices to your guests. Serve the bones, sliced into individual bones, alongside as garnish and for the cavemen in your party to nibble on.

7. As an alternative, you can slice giant slabs of your beef by simply knifing between each bone and creating giant sized rib-eyes for each of your guests.

Ghetto Football Dorito Nachos

This is a truly disgusting mish-mash of grease and flavor that I used to eat for meals when I was a poor, starving DJ in South Lake Tahoe in the early 1990's. Now, I roll this out occasionally during NFL football games. Eat it with a fork for real fun.

1. Brown the ground beef in a sauté pan. Disregard the taco seasoning packet instructions and do not discard the beef fat, add both packets and only 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil

2. Add half of the chopped onion and lower heat to low to simmer for 3-5 minutes

3. To a large salad bowl, add a handful of Doritos covering the bottom of the bowl in a single layer

4. If you're going use refried beans, add a layer of them (cooked) to the Dorito

5. Cover the Doritos with a couple spoonfuls of ground beef and a layer of cheese

6. Repeat steps 3-5

7. Cover with the remaining beef if desired, the rest of the onions, and a layer of cheese covering the top.

8. Place the whole bowl in the microwave for approximately 90 seconds. Remove, add scallions and stir the whole mess together. The chips will be crisp but wet, although in my experience they will never get soggy. Dig in and feel your arteries clog.

Grilled Steaks

There isn't a better cut of steak to grill than the rib-eye. We all have our prejudices for whatever reason towards different cuts, but a boneless rib-eye is bar none, the best steak to grill. This recipe will work with almost any cut, however

This recipe flies in the face of the absurd notion that you should only turn over a grilled steak once. Bullshit.

Additionally, do me the favor of never cooking a steak more than medium rare. If you're going to cook a steak more than that, eat jerky for Christ's sake.

5. Place steaks on lowest shelf of grill, over med-high heat for 1 minute.

6. Turn steaks and cook on opposite side for an additional minute.

7. Turn steaks over again, and move to second shelf of grill. Cook for 3 minutes, then turn over again.

8. Cook steaks to an interior temperature of 115 degrees for a perfectly cooked rare steak.

Grilled Summer Kabobs

Kabobs (also known as skewers and/or shish-kabobs) were wildly popular a couple of decades ago, then fell out of favor, mainly because people made some exceptionally dopey blunders, ruining the appeal. Properly marinated and cooked kabobs are an easy way to prepare a great meal in the summertime, so let’s review the most common mistakes people make:

- Cooking the meat and the veggies on the same skewer. I have no idea how this started, but it’s abjectly stupid. Meat needs MUCH longer to cook than veggies, so why would you place it all on the same part of the grill? I am assuming this is done for “presentation” purposes, but that’s silly since the first thing people do when you give them their skewer is empty it. Grill the meat and veggies on their own exclusive skewers, combine all of it when serving. (Or serve it as I do, on one large platter with the meat on one side and all of th different veggies on the other. Allow guests to spoon up what they like the looks of the most).

- Cutting the meat into different sized chunks. If you have meat chunks varying in size, they will cook at different rates. This is a good idea if you’re trying to appeal to a variety of tastes, but if everyone like their meat cooked the same way, this will cause half of your meat to be overdone (or underdone).

- Not marinating. Kabobs are meant to have a specific, unique flavor. If you just want to taste grilled meat and veggies, then why are you going to the trouble of kabobbing it? Just grill a steak and some veggies in foil and be done with it. Kabobs are meant to be cut into pieces so that they absorb the marinade.

About 2 pounds of meat of your choice (I usually use 1 pound sirloin and 1 pound chicken breasts) cut into equal sized chunks, about 1 square inch. This marinade works great with all types of meat, however. Also, be aware that the marinade will turn the chicken (or pork or fish if you use it) a dark red as a result of the wine.

Assorted veggies to your liking. I prefer onions cut into quarter slices, bell peppers the same and whole mushrooms. Another great accompaniment if you like spice is a pasilla pepper or two, also cut into quarter chunks.

1. Assemble all of the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well. Check taste and adjust seasonings to your likings.

2. In a large, well sealed Ziploc bag or Tupperware container, allow meat chunks to marinate in the sauce for several hours (at least 4 and up to overnight), refrigerated. Shake the bag/container often to keep the marinade well mixed (failure to do this will allow the oil to separate and decrease the flavor)

3. When ready to cook, skewer all of the vegetables together on their own skewers

4. Remove meat from marinade and place similar sized and types of meats on skewers together

5. Grill meat skewers over high, direct heat to desired doneness, turning often. (Sirloin should take between 3-7 minutes depending on the heat of your fire and the size of your chunks). This is where your skill as a griller comes into play because the food needs to be watched closely.

6. Grill veggie skewers over low to med low heat, turning often

7. When all food is done, remove from skewers and serve it all together on a giant shallow serving bowl. Rice is a great side dish.

Grilled Tri Tip

This marinade guarantees your tri-tip will be flavorful and tender (unless you screw it up). I serve my tri-tip sliced and with a little marinade. This recipe will also work for sandwiches.

I prefer the trip-tip strips, although this same recipe works with tri-tip roasts.

1. Pierce the tri-tip with a fork numerous times (or score with a knife).

2. Either place the tri-tip in a shallow glass dish or in a large Ziploc bag. Cover with marinade. Allow to marinate for at least an hour, and for up to 24 hours. (I usually do 4-8 hours).

3. Place tri-tip on center rack of heated BBQ Grill. Cook over medium-high heat until the center of you meat reaches 115 degrees (If you're using 1 inch thick strips, this will take 3-5 minutes per side). This will produce red/rare center meat and medium rare (pink) meat on the ends. (Quality instant-read meat thermometers are a must unless you are an experienced cooker and can test meat done-ness by feeling the cuts. NEVER cut the meat open to check done-ness, it will dry out the meat).

4. Slice and serve! Great with baked potatoes and a variety of green veggies including asparagus, broccoli, and Brussel sprouts.

Grilled Veal Chops With Sage

Veal, properly cooked and flavored, is an exceptional piece of meat. Most people overcook it and/or over-marinade it. The trick with veal is to bring out its gloriously mild beef flavors, not to smother them. This dish perfectly accentuates the naturally awesome flavor of veal.

2. Add chops to marinade. I prefer a tightly sealed Ziploc bag or, if necessary, a Tupperware of appropriate size. The trick is to make sure the chops are swimming in the marinade.

3. Allow to marinate, shaking/mixing container often. Chops should marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours, refrigerated.

4. Bring chops to room temperature before grilling

5. Pre-heat grill to 450 degrees.

6. Remove chops from marinade and grill for 2 minutes on side one.

7. Turn, grilling for an additional 2 minutes

8. Turn again, grilling 3 minutes

9. Turn a final time and allow an additional 3-5 minutes to achieve medium rare. The middle of the chop should feel identical to the base of your thumb when you press on both with your index finger. If using a meat thermometer, you’re looking for 135 degrees.

3. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer and cover for 20 minutes or until pasta is tender

Hot Summer Hamburgers

These were born out of a recent idea I had and turned out to be the greatest hamburgers I've ever had. A few points:

**You are forced with this recipe to buy cans of food and use very little of the actual can, thus the recipe may seem a little wasteful to you.

**These burgers as prepared here are pretty damn spicy. To lessen that, use less of the chipotle chiles. You want to use a little for the flavor, you can go as little as ½ of one and you should still get all of the flavor, but less spice

The ingredients below will make 3 perfectly sized burgers.

Ingredients
1½ Pounds Ground beef preferably chuck

3 roasted whole green chiles, stems removed
(for these, I buy the can from Ortega and the quality is great. Unfortunately, unless you have another purpose for the remaining chiles, you throw most of the can away)

2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped (again most of the can is un-used)

¼ cup shredded Monterey jack cheese or shaved parmesan
(this step is less about flavor and more about providing a binding product for the burgers)

1. In a bowl, combine the meat, salt, cumin, chipoltle, cheese, and red onion and, using your hands, mix to incorporate all of the seasoning together. I spend at least 3 minutes just rolling it all together to insure proper mixing.

2. Form into 3 equal patties, about ¾ inch thick. To do so, separate the unformed meat into 3 equal sized piles. One by one, grab a pile and roll it into a big meatball. Then gently begin forming the ball into an even patty, making sure that all sides of the patty are rounded. Too many people are not gentile enough with their burgers in this step and that's why they fall apart during cooking later. (the burgers fall apart, not the person)

3. If you aren't cooking the burgers right away, place them in the fridge, just bring them back to room temperature before cooking.

4. Open the buns and sprinkle them inside with olive oil, salt and pepper

5. Slice each of the chiles lengthwise down one side and spread them open to make three bigger peppers

6. Preheat grill to medium high heat. If using a gas grill, you want the internal temp to reach 400 degrees.

7. Place the burgers on the grill for 4 minutes, then turn

8. After 4 minutes, turn burgers again and place the chiles on top, then place the cheese on top of the chiles. Place buns, face down on grill. Kill the heat and allow the cheese to melt the chiles onto the bread (one minute should be enough), serve.

1. Season the meat with a good amount of salt and pepper, then lightly flour each piece.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

3. Over high heat on the stove, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large Dutch oven (oversized saucepan). When the oil is hot, place the meat in the oil and sear until well browned on each side, about 3-4 minutes per side.

4. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside, lower heat to medium.

5. To the fat in the pan, add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cook until golden, stirring often (about 5 minutes).

6. Add the red wine and cook for 2 minutes.

7. Add the beef stock and cook for 2 minutes.

8. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, thyme, sage and rosemary and more salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes
9. Place the meat back in the pot.

10. Cover the pot with the lid and place it in the oven, cooking for 2 ½ hours.

11. 10 minutes before the meat is finished, heat a large saute pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

14. Serve the Osso Buco as follows: A bed of white beans, with a shank on top, covered with enough sauce to coat the dish, but not drown the beans. This is an amazing old-world dish that will blow you away if done right.

Perfectly Grilled Hamburgers

A perfectly cooked burger should be medium rare inside. Cooked, but pink (not red) and very tender.

1. In a bowl, combine the meat, salt, pepper, garlic powder and olive oil and, using your hands, mix to incorporate all of the seasoning together. I spend at least 3 minutes just rolling it all together to insure proper mixing.

2. Form into 3 equal patties, about ¾ inch thick. To do so, separate the unformed meat into 3 equal sized piles. One by one, grab a pile and roll it into a big meatball. Then gently begin forming the ball into an even patty, making sure that all sides of the patty are rounded. Too many people are not gentle enough with their burgers in this step and that's why they fall apart during cooking later (the burgers fall apart, not the person).

3. If you aren't cooking the burgers right away, place them in the fridge, just bring them back to room temperature before cooking.

4. Open the buns and sprinkle them on the insides with olive oil, salt and pepper.

5. Preheat grill to medium high heat. If using a gas grill, you want the internal temp to reach 400 degrees.

6. Place the burgers on the grill for 4 minutes, then turn.

7. After 4 minutes, turn burgers again and place the cheese on top of the meat. Place buns, face down on grill. Kill the heat and allow the cheese to melt the burger. Serve and enjoy.

Rib Eye Risotto

Properly-cooked risotto will bring out the rich creaminess of the rice's starches, while maintaining an al dente feel to each individual rice grain. A common mistake is to add cheese (usually parmesan) too soon; it will become gooey and unpleasant unless added just before serving. Also, overcooked risotto or risotto allowed to sit before serving becomes gelatinous and gross, so you can’t cook this dish ahead of time.

While preparing the risotto, there will be a period of 10-20 minutes where it seems as though you’re making rice-soup. This dish demands patience.

To make this dish, buy plain Arborio rice, easily found in any grocery store now. Avoid buying any type pre-made or pre-flavored “risotto.”

5. Begin adding broth mix, 1 cup at a time, allowing rice to soak up the moisture while stirring regularly. As the rice soaks up half of each cup of liquid, add an additional cup of liquid. All in all, this process (no pun intended) is fluid and can take anywhere from 18 to 30 minutes.

6. Somewhere around 18 minutes and 3-4 cups of broth into the process, begin checking the rice for doneness. As it gets close to being al dente, add ½ of the vegetables and ½ of the chopped rib-eye. Stir into risotto.

7. When the rice has absorbed almost the perfect amount of broth, add the remainder of the meat and vegetable. If the meat and vegetables soak up too much liquid, add a little more now, creating the perfect consistency.

8. Serve, topping with parmesan or Romano cheese.

Roasted Prime Rib

If you like, you can use the reserved juices from this dish to make a brown gravy. A VERY easy way to do this is to use those gravy packets from the store. Rather than adding water as the packet recipes says, add the roast drippings instead. (In other words, if the gravy packet says to add 1 cup water to the seasoning packet, add 1 cup of drippings to the packet instead. If your gravy is too thick, add water then).

1. Remove your meat from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking it, so it reaches room temperature.

2. Preheat Oven to 475 degrees.

3. Put the roast, fat side up (rib side down) in your roasting pan on a wire rack which allows the drippings of the roast to catch in the bottom of your roasting pan.

4. Rub olive oil all over the roast.

5. Remove the thyme leaves from twigs and press the thyme leaves all over the roast to adhere the thyme directly to the meat.

6. Generously season the entire roast with salt and pepper.

7. Make sure that your meat is at room temperature before cooking it.

8. Roast the meat , uncovered, in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes (DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR DURING THIS TIME!!)

9. Reduce the oven heat to 300 degrees and roast for another 90 minutes. The "formula" is around 13 minutes per pound at this stage and this temperature. Check the meat with a meat thermometer. The roast is done when the thermometer reads 115 degrees.

10. Remove the meat from the oven and allow it to rest, covered with aluminum foil for at least 10 minutes and no more than 20. Carve the meat and serve your perfect roast.

Rob's Beef Wellington

Most of America has been re-introduced to this classic dish via Gordon Ramsay’s show “Hell’s Kitchen,” in which the item is featured regularly on the phony menu of the non-existent restaurant (reality TV is FAKE)!

The impressive look of a beautifully cooked filet surrounded by gorgeously baked pastry served with a side of sauce has triggered thousands of Americans to look at the person next to them on the sofa and say “what the hell is that? Looks great.”

This dish is time consuming but not hard. Follow these steps and I promise you a presentation and meal to die for. Traditionally, wellington is made with a full beef tenderloin which is not easy to find nor affordable for most. I suggest using individual filet mignons. At the very least purchase choice grade beef and if you can splurge on prime grade filets, do so, it’s worth it.

NOTE: There are multiple videos and pictures of this dish being made available on the internet. Seeing it prepared may help your confidence level if you’re feeling intimidated.

Dijon Mustard as directed (English mustard is traditional though hard to find and I have made this dish both ways and found no difference)

FOR THE SAUCE (directions at end of recipe) Makes enough for the recipe above

10 ounces red wine (never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink)

5 ounces beef stock

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon of cornstarch, dissolved and mixed into 1 teaspoon of water

1. Trim the filets of any excess fat and season both sides with salt and pepper

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

3. Preferably in a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil on high to very hot (about 2 minutes)

4. Sear the filets in the pan on all sides, 2 minutes per side. Remove from pan and allow meat to cool

5. Brush all sides of filet with a thin layer of mustard

6. Chop the mushrooms roughly and place in a food processor and puree to a paste (about 90 seconds)…shake/stir as needed to insure an even puree

7. Heat a large, non-stick sauté pan over medium heat, dry

8. Scrape the mushroom puree into the pan to cook the water out of the mushrooms, stirring occasionally. This will take about 10 minutes.

9. When the mushroom puree is completely dry, add shallots and garlic, stir and sauté over low heat for 2 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool

10. Roll out two large pieces of plastic wrap and place, one at a time, horizontally on your work surface.

11. Lay out 4 slices of the prosciutto on each sheet of plastic wrap so that they slightly overlap one another

12. Spread the mushroom mixture evenly over the ham using a spatula

13. Place each beef filet in the middle

14. Roll the ham over the filet, using the plastic wrap so that you do so tightly, then wrap the plastic tightly and refrigerate for 20 minutes

15. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to flatten out the puff pastry to a size large enough to wrap around the filet.

16. Remove filet from fridge and unwrap (I suggest carefully cutting the plastic wrap off of your nicely formed roll).

17. Place filet in the middle of the pastry dough and brush the corners and sides of the dough with egg wash (this is imperative).

18. Fold the pastry around each filet, then cut off excess dough at the ends. Turn filet over, placing it seam side down on a plate. Brush entire filet top and sides with more egg yolks and refrigerate for 5 minutes

19. Place the pastry-wrapped filet on a greased, thin baking pan and again brushed the exposed surface with eggs.

20. Using a small knife, slice very thin vents across the top of each pastry about 1 inch apart; do not cut all the way through to the meat.

21. Top each with a pinch of evenly distributed sea salt and bake for 25-30 minutes. In my convection oven at home, 24 minutes gets them to 125 degrees in the middle, which is a perfect medium rare. Use a meat thermometer to be sure as you’ve worked too hard at this point.

22. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing one inch thick and serving with sauce on the side.

SAUCE RECIPE (Can be made ahead and/or during and then reheated)

1. Using a medium saucepan bring wine to a boil over high heat and reduce, boiling for 3 minutes

2. Add the stock and sugar and simmer on low for 5 minutes

3. Add the cornstarch mixture, stir and simmer for 10 minutes as sauce thickens. Serve either on top of meat or in individual ramekins with each slice.

Salisbury Steak

For you "Dawns" of the world, this is a beef recipe you can love. Cube steaks are made from round steak, the leanest cut of beef.

For you Arnie's of the world, be warned…this is NOT like a Swanson's Hungry Man frozen dinner. The steaks are not mushy soft and gooey. Other than that, they're fantastic.